A Co. Armagh farmer has been convicted at Newry Court of five animal welfare charges.
Tiernan McMullen (23) of Granary Drive, Keady, Armagh was convicted yesterday (Monday, July 7) on three charges of failure to ensure the needs of an animal were met, two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and one charge of failure to dispose of an animal carcass.
McMullen was convicted in his absence and fined £1,200 plus a £15 offender levy.
The case came before the court as a result of a welfare inspection carried out by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on February 23 last year.
Court
Newry Court heard that during the welfare inspection a large number of animals were found to be in poor condition with no access to feed.
Some animals had no access to dry lying and one bovine carcass was found among living animals.
In addition to this four sick animals, one of which was euthanised by a DAERA veterinary officer as in their opinion it was suffering unnecessarily, had not been isolated for appropriate treatment.
The department also detailed that the only feed found on the premises was a pile of grass silage in an open yard which the animals were lying and defecating on.
DAERA said that this silage was contaminated and unsuitable “both in quality and quantity to be a feed supply for the almost 100 animals present in the yard at that time”.
It also found that the animals in this yard had access to “unsuitable shelter that was deep with slurry and had defective roofing near the entrance which had the potential to injure the animals”.
DAERA
DAERA has again highlighted that it gives “high priority” to the welfare of animals and operates a vigorous enforcement policy to ensure full compliance of regulatory requirements.
“Any breaches are investigated thoroughly and offenders prosecuted as necessary,” the department stated.
